Bowdoin College Top Questions

Academics are strong, students take the work seriously Kids are really ambitious and while there are some stereotypical jocks, most kids are really open-minded and friendly.

Sometimes Bowdoin feels very small, but when it comes to classes this is the best part! all of my professors know my name and can discuss my work with ease. I can get as much one on one attention as I want and it's easy to participate in calss. The college town has lots of good restaurants although a lot of them are closed on Sunday. Freeport is fun for a day trip. It's a little hard to find a group at first if you're not on a sports team because most everyone is.

The great thing about Bowdoin is its size. Because its so small, every student is really involved in one or a few activitities on campus, and they work hard to take ownership of campus. Students challenge each other academically, and the intense environment pushes you to give your all to the school.

More diversity

Pack animals are big here at Bowdoin. people tend to move in flocks from place to place here and individualism doesn't always work. It definitely gets better as people get older, but there are undeniable cliques.

Bowdoin is a really great school. People here are incredibly friendly (you'll have to come visit to understand this) and incredibly smart, but people rarely compare themselves to others. We are very environmentally conscious, not necessarily in the tree-hugger way but more in the turn off your lights or take little steps to save the environment sort of way. Athletics can be a big deal and a big part of your social life if you want them to be but you don't have to be an athlete to be "cool." I think the coolest thing about Bowdoin is there isn't really a "cool." Everyone is pretty secure with themselves and people are generally accepted for who they are.

The best thing about Bowdoin are the open minded students and professors who willingly engage in a living-learning community.

Best thing academically: Professors. Best thing overall: Ivies Weekend. Good student body size if you like close contact with professors and peers. The town is great. Go to the Little Dog Cafe! Administration recently started buying carbon credits from some wind energy company. I pay 40+ a year to get an education, to live in a nice dorm and to eat good food. I do not pay 40+ a year to subsidize an unreliable, insignificant source of alternative energy.

I think by and large most people are really happy at Bowdoin. The school is small enough that it caters to the students and there are lots of resources available, yet I still meet new people all the time. Bowdoin is also in a great town, Brunswick.

Bowdoin, like any school, can be what you make of it. It can seem like a small school dominated by New England prep school kids who like to get drunk, or you can seek out the many people who are not this way. Bowdoin has many material perks - the housing is much better than many comparable schools (especially for freshmen), the food is really great (even for vegetarians like me), and the location gives you both the advantages of cities within reasonable drives as well as being walking distance from cute shops and restaurants of a small town. And yes, the academics, for the most part, are very good, particularly once you get past entry-level classes. I would comment that school spirit and traditions don't seem to be very important here.